Mars, A Cosmic Stepping Stone

Life in the Universe.- The Origin of Life on Earth.- From Antiquity to the Canals.- Viking.- The Legacy of Viking.- Mars: A Cosmic Stepping Stone.- A Grand Plan.- The Search for Life: A Planetary Perspective.- The Search for Life: Water and the Atmosphere.- The Search for Life: Past and Present.- A Global Strategy.- Global Programs.- First Steps: Pathfinder.- Mars Reconnaissance.- Spirit and Opportunity.- A Paradigm Shift.- Next Steps.- Because It's There.- Planetary Protection.- A Human Mission to Mars.- Our Life in the Universe.

Kevin Nolan is a scientist and science communicator from Ireland. He holds honors B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in physics and astronomy. After several years in the computer industry, Kevin returned to lecture in physics at the Institute of Technology, Tallaght, Dublin, Ireland and is currently pursuing his Ph.D. under Dr. Niall Smith of the Cork Institute of Technology, developing a software based image analysis system for the European Space Agency INTEGRAL space observatory.

From the reviews:

"...Kevin Nolan knows his marbles, as we would say in this part of the world. I was absolutely mesmerized with the amount of relevant and accurate detail that he manages to squeeze into less than 400 pages of lively text, and this well supported by dozens of crisp illustrations... I can wholeheartedly recommend this book for anyone with an interest in the development of life on Earth and on human plans to populate the Universe." (Gerard McMahon, Astronomy & Space, January 2009)

"Whoever steps out onto the surface of Mars is likely to be greeeted and shown around by Kevin Nolan. Kevin, lecturer in physics at Tallaght Institute of Technology, probably knows more about Mars than most of us know about Earth, and it is remarkable just how much we now know about the red planet. For a number of years, Mars has been the target for mission after mission, all of which Kevin describes in some detail..." (Tom Kennedy, Science Spin, February 24, 2009)

"...to date, the search for life elsewhere in the universe has eluded us. Mars: A Cosmic Stepping Stone is an attempt by Irish scientist Kevin Nolan to put our explorations of the Red Planet in the general context of that search. His book could hardly be more timely as Nasa scientists have recently found plumes of methane gas which could originate from microbial life on Mars... No place in our solar system, not even our own moon, is as well known to us as Mars, yet we have literally and metaphorically only scratched the surface. Nolan, a lecturer in physics at Tallaght IT, diligently sets out the history of Mars exploration and how the planet has confounded, confused and surprised in equal measure... There have been many books written about Mars, but few are as comprehensive or as lucid as this... Mars could be the scientific story of this century, but the public have not yet become fully engaged... The subtitle of the book is Why Mars Matters. It is to the author's ultimate